an expert camper

Everything about this trip was easy with Tim from the long drive to the time in the campsite to the walks.  

a lollipop from Gran

'T' for Tim

he enjoyed the water but was just as happy playing army and superhero games in the rocks beside the river.  his imagination has quadrupled in recent months.

tim really took a liking to our rented mini-van which had push button doors.  he and luke spent a great deal of their time playing in the car

he narrates the stories of the armies that he is playing with

this was his first treasure.  the second one he carried a mile down the path with only a little help from paul.  gran brought it on the bus with him and it almost came back home with us

a strong walker

Tim walked at least five miles up and down a mountain.  maybe the supeman shirt, which he didn't take off for 36 hours, helped.

The next morning he wanted his eggs and sausage in the pan like dad.

first golf lesson

Back when it was spring, sort of, Tim had two short golf lessons with the pro at Collindale Golf Course.  Paul gave up his lunch hour to take him to the lessons and spent his time chatting with the grandfather of one of Tim's classmates while they watched the three students.  The other two students, a boy and girl, both came with their own golf bags and three clubs, but Tim managed to keep pace with them despite his borrowed equipment.

he has his mother's balance issues, which I'm sure he'll fix before she does

The lesson started at the driving range, and then they got to take the a ride in the golf cart to the 9th hole where they played a game of scramble, using the best shot of the three to progress down the fairway.

oops

apparently the body language that comes with a disappointing putt is not learned but instinctive

He says he wants to take some more lessons, so when the 22 inches of snow has melted (it's already half gone), we'll get him back on the course and see if we can't turn this into a family affair in the future - for totally selfish reasons, of course.

swimming

Tim commands the entire pool  now.  He walks anywhere he wants for half of it, and makes his way around quite quickly in this car that we bought for him in Turkey in 2008.  It survived being driven over last summer, but the steering wheel had to be taped together.  It came off completely on this trip.  It's one of those impulse purchases that has served us well.

five

Tim has been waiting impatiently to turn five for at least three months.  During those months, he had a lot of questions about whether the things that he was able to do (running, jumping, counting, etc) were the kinds of things that only five-year-olds can do.  This is the first of his birthdays that I've actually wished would hurry and arrive.  The day after his birthday, he started asking if he was six yet.  Sigh.

He got to celebrate his birthday three times.  The first was at GG and Gramps's house on his actual birthday.  He got a lot of cool Scooby Doo stuff and a great big cake.  His second birthday celebration was with Gran, Grand-da and Melissa on Skype.  His final celebration was with his brother and four of his friends at home: JT, Bobby, Zach, Addie.

He requested car minicakes (again), but only Finn this time which made it much easier for me.

 opening gifts

handmade super hero costume

 super tim and batman

tim, jt, zach and addie (bobby not in picture)

an oddly quiet moment